Tuesday
Jun212011
Twenty Four Hours In Philadelphia
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 6:42PM
A post I wrote last month in Philly airport, and never got around to publishing:
Every time I have flown on the US Airways flight 734 from Philadelphia to Manchester, it has been delayed. Usually just be half an hour or so, occasionally for a few hours. The reasons for this have varied from lightening storms preventing baggage handlers operating, a back up of traffic, a plane not arriving from another destination, or a mechanical failure of some sort. The last reason is why I am waiting in the airport right now, with a scheduled delay of 50 minutes currently (that is certainly prone to change).
You’d think after these consistent delays, I would choose another flight across the Atlantic home. However, I still stand by the US Airways flight from Philly to Man, mainly because of its cost, but also because it is one of the few flights that flies straight from the US to Manchester at a reasonable time. Did I mention it’s also one of the cheapest? And finally, it’s one of the few transatlantic flights which always has a personal TV screen for each seat (even for those of us who fly in pleb class), with a personal choice of films and TV shows to watch. It has had this feature for some time now. Despite being late departing, I don’t think I have ever arrived in Manchester more than an hour later than I should have.
Nevertheless, the one time I could have done with the flight being delayed, it was spot on time. Sod’s law right? Those terrible tornadoes which tore up Missouri were part of a bigger weather system which caused havoc to air travel on Monday. After a smooth flight into Phoenix, I found that my flight to Philly was subject to an ATC delay, air traffic control, and wasn’t allowed to leave due to weather issues en route to the East Coast. So, we waited in Phoenix, 45 minutes sat in the plane on the taxiway, just in case ATC allowed us an earlier wheels up time. They didn’t.
We made good time, but still landed in Philadelphia at 8.39pm. My flight to Manchester left at 8.40pm. Needless to say, I missed it. They figured I would, and had already given me a seat on the flight a day later.
So it was, that I was stranded in Philly for 24 hours.
It wasn’t so bad. Philadelphia is as good a city as any to be stuck in. US airways gave me a discounted hotel to stay in, a Holiday Inn right by “stadium city”, the area in Philly where all the sports stadiums are located. 4 of them in total. Pretty good idea having them all together. The Phillies were playing that night, so there was a great atmosphere all around the area. I was pretty beat though, and ordered in some Chinese and watched some Netflix before hitting the hay.
The next day I had hours to kill before I had to be back at the airport, so I took a shuttle into downtown Philly, and had a ride on the Big Bus Tour- a great way to see all of the city. Being a bit of a history buff, it’s also a great way to learn about the city too. I could bore you with lots of stories about famous Philadelphians, things that came from Philly, and the locations I visited. I could tell you the story of William Penn’s curse, or the designing of the American flag, or the railway stations in Monopoly, but this blog is already a little long. Save the stories for the pictures which I took. I might post them at some point in the next 3 months...if you’re lucky. (backlog of photos to clear!)
One story I will tell you about, is the final shopping purchase I made in the US. A genuine American Football, to practice with this summer, for only $11. Bargain. Anyone in England want a “throw around” to learn about the game, give me a shout!
As I write this now sat in the airport waiting for my flight back home a day later than planned, my plane is delayed by 2 hours. The plane I should have gotten yesterday. Yesterday, the delay would have been perfect. Today- not so much. Sod’s law.
Every time I have flown on the US Airways flight 734 from Philadelphia to Manchester, it has been delayed. Usually just be half an hour or so, occasionally for a few hours. The reasons for this have varied from lightening storms preventing baggage handlers operating, a back up of traffic, a plane not arriving from another destination, or a mechanical failure of some sort. The last reason is why I am waiting in the airport right now, with a scheduled delay of 50 minutes currently (that is certainly prone to change).
You’d think after these consistent delays, I would choose another flight across the Atlantic home. However, I still stand by the US Airways flight from Philly to Man, mainly because of its cost, but also because it is one of the few flights that flies straight from the US to Manchester at a reasonable time. Did I mention it’s also one of the cheapest? And finally, it’s one of the few transatlantic flights which always has a personal TV screen for each seat (even for those of us who fly in pleb class), with a personal choice of films and TV shows to watch. It has had this feature for some time now. Despite being late departing, I don’t think I have ever arrived in Manchester more than an hour later than I should have.
Nevertheless, the one time I could have done with the flight being delayed, it was spot on time. Sod’s law right? Those terrible tornadoes which tore up Missouri were part of a bigger weather system which caused havoc to air travel on Monday. After a smooth flight into Phoenix, I found that my flight to Philly was subject to an ATC delay, air traffic control, and wasn’t allowed to leave due to weather issues en route to the East Coast. So, we waited in Phoenix, 45 minutes sat in the plane on the taxiway, just in case ATC allowed us an earlier wheels up time. They didn’t.
We made good time, but still landed in Philadelphia at 8.39pm. My flight to Manchester left at 8.40pm. Needless to say, I missed it. They figured I would, and had already given me a seat on the flight a day later.
So it was, that I was stranded in Philly for 24 hours.
It wasn’t so bad. Philadelphia is as good a city as any to be stuck in. US airways gave me a discounted hotel to stay in, a Holiday Inn right by “stadium city”, the area in Philly where all the sports stadiums are located. 4 of them in total. Pretty good idea having them all together. The Phillies were playing that night, so there was a great atmosphere all around the area. I was pretty beat though, and ordered in some Chinese and watched some Netflix before hitting the hay.
The next day I had hours to kill before I had to be back at the airport, so I took a shuttle into downtown Philly, and had a ride on the Big Bus Tour- a great way to see all of the city. Being a bit of a history buff, it’s also a great way to learn about the city too. I could bore you with lots of stories about famous Philadelphians, things that came from Philly, and the locations I visited. I could tell you the story of William Penn’s curse, or the designing of the American flag, or the railway stations in Monopoly, but this blog is already a little long. Save the stories for the pictures which I took. I might post them at some point in the next 3 months...if you’re lucky. (backlog of photos to clear!)
One story I will tell you about, is the final shopping purchase I made in the US. A genuine American Football, to practice with this summer, for only $11. Bargain. Anyone in England want a “throw around” to learn about the game, give me a shout!
As I write this now sat in the airport waiting for my flight back home a day later than planned, my plane is delayed by 2 hours. The plane I should have gotten yesterday. Yesterday, the delay would have been perfect. Today- not so much. Sod’s law.
Reader Comments (2)
"One story I will tell you about, is the final shopping purchase I made in the US. A genuine American Football, to practice with this summer, for only $11. Bargain. Anyone in England want a “throw around” to learn about the game, give me a shout!"
Very nice. If only the rest of the world knew more about American football I'm sure it would skyrocket in popularity. My hope is that in my lifetime it will be added as an Olympic sport (where of course the U.S. will crush everyone).
Yeh, undoubtedly. I was telling my Dad about the American Football team at my university in England...basically how they were all extremely obnoxious jocks, who pretty much just got together to drink, not play football. I wonder if they even knew anything about it.